Flirting with Forever
by Spikeybabe
Summary: Zack Taylor and Trini Kwan have been friends forever. What will they do when those feelings begin flirting on the edge of friendship and into love? Will they take a chance or run scared? Using prompts from the Ranger Romance Themes.
1. Song

The last thing in the world that I needed was another story to write, you know? But since I've been writing everyday, I have to explore different ideas. Unfortunately, if you are someone who likes canon, it doesn't live here. It's been a long time since I've watched MMPR and I don't want to research street names, birthdays, house colors or anything else. I might be lucky enough to stay in character but no guarantees. I do not own Power Rangers and can no longer see any mistakes I've made but no doubt they are there. If you feel like continuing past this, thanks!

Song

Zack Taylor walked down the street with three of his best friends.

It was the middle of summer and the days spread out long and carefree before them. Kim had called that morning to find out what his plans for the day. She had offered a trip to the community pool and he hastily agreed. There was something about girls in bikinis that made his day just a little brighter.

Trini lived two streets over from him and that's where they were headed. Kim, Jason, and Billy lived a little further away so they met up first because none of them were old enough to drive yet.

They turned onto Madison Street and strolled down to the Kwan's. It was a tidy two-story house painted a deep gold. Trini was crouched in the garage door with her back to them so they walked around to where she was. "Trini!"

Trini glanced over her shoulder with a smile. She brushed her dark hair from her face and stood. "Hey, everyone."

"What are you doing?"

"Straightening up the garage."

"Oh. We're going to the pool and we wanted to know if you could come."

She shrugged and glanced at them all before responding. "Maybe after I'm finished. I could walk over when I'm done."

"How long do you think you'll be?"

"I would be most honored to help you," Billy interrupted quietly.

"Yeah," Kim seconded. "If we help, you'll get done faster."

Zack wanted to get to the girls but if he mentioned it, he'd just get a withering look and a head slap from Kim and a bunch of garbage of how they were the five musketeers. One for all and all for one. It would be easier just to get it done. And if he daydreamed about seeing Marcy Robinson in a bathing suit, with all that pale skin showing, who would know but him?

Jason and Zack traded looks. "Okay," Jason agreed.

"Zack?" Kim pinned him with an evil eye.

"Let's get a move on."

They spent over an hour straightening up boxes, a job made easier by the fact that the Kwans didn't want anything thrown away – just labeled and neatly stacked. Mrs. Kwan popped her head in. She shook her head. "Thank you all for coming over and helping Trini. It would have taken her twice as long to get it done because of that." She gestured toward her daughter and the group laughed. Trini had her head stuck in a book. "I have sandwiches and drinks up at the house," she announced. "Come up when you're finished."

Billy and Jason walked out of the garage behind Mrs. Kwan. Kim stood up and dusted off her pink shorts before marking something on her last box.

"C'mon, Trini. Your mom has lunch ready."

"Be right there, Kim. I just want to finish this."

"Zack, you coming?"

"Yeah." He stood up and stretched when Kim left. He glanced over at Trini, who was still engrossed in the book. Some things never change, he thought with a private smile.

"Girl, don't forget to eat."

She smiled, not looking up. "I won't."

"Watcha reading?"

"One of Grams' songs. I'd forgotten it until I saw it again."

"You want to sing to us?" he teasingly asked.

"Maybe one of these days," she slanted him a look from underneath her eyelashes and for a moment, he was intrigued.

Zack shook his head to clear it. "Okay. Catch ya inside."

He walked out and onto the lawn. The Kwan's garage sat about ten feet from the house so he started across the lawn. The front door was closer but they had always been welcome in the kitchen door.

Trini hadn't been flirting with him, had she? No. There was no way that his buddy; a girl he had played with since they were in diapers would have been flirting with him. He didn't think of her like that and he didn't poach on his friends.

Resolved, he took one step but they all disappeared with a whisper of voice, floating on the hot spring air.

_Sometimes I lie awake at night_

_Wondering if you think of me_

Trini was singing.

Zack froze. He didn't know anyone could sound like that, that she could sound like that. His nerve endings were prickling as her voice ran down his spine.

And at fifteen, Zack Taylor slipped over the edge of friendship into unchartered territory.

As he finished the trek towards the house, he only had one thought.

What was he going to do now?


	2. Friends

Friends

She'd been surprised when her friends had shown up that morning. Excited but surprised nonetheless. But it was summer and summer was for freedom and friends. She'd already committed to cleaning the garage and having a boring morning because of it but it had gone much more smoothly and a great deal faster with her friends helping her.

Gradually, her friends had gone into the house, leaving her alone with him.

Trini kept her eyes focused on the book she held. Every fiber of her being was focused on the boy still lingering in the garage but he didn't need to know that. Wasn't going to find out until she was sure of what she wanted.

They had been friends for so long that she would do nothing to change it until she was entirely clear. Zack, Billy, Kim, and Jason had been her friends for as long as she could remember. The feelings she had for Zack were different than the ones she had for the other three. She couldn't explain it, couldn't make sense as to why. They just were.

Her head, the logical side, was warning her heart, the more emotional and romantic side, that life was not a fairytale. Girls did not get a happily ever after, especially not so young. The practical side knew it. The other swore there was always a chance. Her heart and head warred every time she was in his presence. It sure did make life interesting.

"Girl, don't forget to eat."

She smiled. Miss a few meals and her friends decided she was too forgetful to come out of the rain. Strangely, it made her feel loved instead of annoyed. "I won't."

"Watcha reading?"

"One of Grams' songs. I'd forgotten it until I saw it again." Her Grams had been a talented composer and jazz singer until she'd given it up for love and family. She hadn't stopped writing though and the family had journals full of songs.

"You want to sing to us?" Zack asked.

She saw the smirk on his face. Everyone thought she was shy but there was a difference between being shy and being quiet. She had always been better one on one, even with her friends, than she was in a big group.

"Maybe one of these days." Trini glanced up from underneath her lashes and his expression, one that had never been aimed at her before, gave her a secret thrill.

"Okay. Catch ya inside."

She watched him leave and a wild idea hit. She waited ten seconds, eyes locked on her watch. Trini ignored the twisted nerves cramping her stomach before singing the first two lines of the song she'd been looking at.

Her voice wasn't a source of pride even though her parents had told her it was a lovely one. It was just another part of her, like her hair color or her dark brown eyes. The thought of Zack being the only one to hear gave it an added richness and an intensity she'd never shown before.

_Sometimes I lie awake at night_

_Wondering if you think of me_

She let her voice trail off and she sighed as she stroked her fingers gently over the journal on her lap. Someday she hoped that Zack would feel the same way that she did. And that one day she'd have the courage to explore it.


	3. Power

I have nothing to say (highly unusual) except that I don't own the Power Rangers.

Power

If this was all a dream, he never wanted to wake up. How often could a person say that they were a Power Ranger? He didn't know if that a capital letter kind of phrase, he'd never been good at grammar, but it seemed like it should be.

He was walking slowly towards his home. His mama would box his ears if he wasn't on time for supper but he was willing to take that chance. It was a secret and if he didn't get his game face on, she would know that he had a secret just by looking at him.

He'd never had power before and he liked the way it felt tingling in his body. Even though he couldn't use it for anything but saving the world, and that was a lot in itself, he could still feel it sparkling inside him.

"Zack!"

He stopped, turning to look over his shoulder, and grinned. "Hey, Trini. What's up?"

She jogged down the street behind him and caught up with him. "Not much. Going home."

"Me, too."

They walked down the street in silence. He'd never done anything after that day, more than a year ago, when he realized that there was more to his feelings for this girl than friendship. For a variety of reasons, he had decided that he wasn't going to take that chance. Though sometimes he wondered what he was missing out on.

"What do you think about today?" Trini asked quietly.

"I don't know. Kind of hard to process, you know?"

She smiled. "I know. I keep wondering if Zordon made a mistake with choosing me." She shook her head. "I hate this lack of self-confidence."

"It's normal, Trini. We're all in the same boat, true? A bunch of teenagers charged with saving the world. It's mind-boggling."

They turned onto the street where he lived. His home was three houses down on the right, a green monstrosity that caught the eye. It wasn't the ugliest house in the world but it was close. And it never failed to make Zack smile when he saw it.

Trini stopped at the foot of the drive when Zack turned into it. "Do you wanna come up? It's taco night," he added temptingly.

"No, thanks." Her smile flashed. She did love a good taco. "I have some stuff to do at home."

He couldn't interpret the look in her eye; he'd seen it before but he still didn't know what it meant. Then it was gone and Trini stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Later." He watched her walk away, long legs strong and tanned in the dusky summer night. And he realized he had known power before. Instead of physical power, it was emotional. And that was a fine thing to know.


	4. Secrets

I'm back and I still haven't figured out where this story is going though it's been five months? Maybe I'll get the next chapter out sooner.

Secrets

It was nice being able to just be a girl, Trini thought on Friday night. Having four best friends that were male just made it hard. Because they didn't care about nail polish, and clothes, and men, and all those things that girls instinctively knew about.

Not that she was much for any of that stuff but it was still nice having a girlfriend to talk about it with. It was a wonderful night so far. There was just something about having a slumber party with a close friend, a romantic movie, and a lot of junk food that always set a good tone.

Trini sprawled on her bedroom floor, waving her hands around as her polish dried. Deeming it suitably dried, she sat up and pulled the bowl of cheese popcorn closer to her. She looked over at Kim. And then she grinned because Kim was studying the kernels of popcorn as if they held the secrets of the universe.

She carefully picked up a couple kernels and popped them into her mouth, crunching satisfactorily. "It's popcorn, Kim. It's not going to kill you to eat it."

Kim's dark brown eyes mock-glared at Trini before she ate the handful of popcorn. After chewing and sipping her soda, she grinned. "Tommy Oliver is so…sexy."

Trini couldn't help but agree as she leaned forward to grab the bowl of caramel corn. She was going to have to double up on her workouts the next week, Trini stared at the mound of food that was in her room. Three flavored bowls of popcorn – butter, caramel, and cheese. Three different bags of potato chips and a plate of brownies. Mrs. Hart had a recipe for gooey double chocolate brownies that were out of this world.

"Earth to Trini. Where did you go?" she asked when Trini looked at her.

Trini tapped the foil-covered plate, her polished nails gleaming. "I was dreaming of brownies."

Kim flopped backwards on the spare bed, arms splayed dramatically. "This is a problem. I wanna talk about boys and you're thinking of food. It's sick."

Trini felt the laugh bubble in her throat at the melodrama of her friend's voice. "It is sick," she echoed soberly, adjusting the strap of her tank top. "But, I agree. Tommy is sexy. There's something about those eyes."

"Trini!" Kim squealed, her Valley girl accent at its peak.

Trini just smiled. Dirty Dancing was playing on the t.v. and she watched as Baby took her first shaky steps into adulthood.

"Nope, no watching the movie." Kim grabbed the remote and paused it. "Tell your secrets, Trin."

"What secrets?" she asked innocently.

"Who do you like?"

"How do you go from me finding Tommy sexy to liking someone?"

"It's Tommy, isn't it?" Kim's expression clouded.

"No, Kim." Trini sat up so she could see Kim's face. "Tommy's cute but I don't have feelings for him."

Kim's smile was radiant. "It's horrible of me but I'm glad."

"Don't worry about it. I wouldn't want to compete with you for a guy."

Kim crawled off the cot and onto the floor. Her brown hair was rumpled charmingly around her shoulders, her face scrubbed free of cosmetics, and her eyes sparkled. "C'mon, Trin. Spill."

"No."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Jason?" A pregnant pause. "Billy? Zack?"

Something in her expression gave her away. "It is! Oh, this is wonderful." She bounced excitedly. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing."

"Why not? Seize the day, Trini. Zack's still mooning over Angela. What happens if he starts dating her or someone else?"

"It's okay. I prefer him dating other people."

"You have no sense of romance, Trin." She got up off the floor and fell onto the bed. She turned back on Dirty Dancing, pouting a little as her dreams of double-dating crumbled. Well, first she had to get Tommy in the dating mood first.

Trini stared at the screen and then spoke. She hadn't planned to say it but it flew of her tongue anyway.

"I'm going to marry him someday. That's why his dating doesn't bother me."

Kim choked on a mouthful of soda. "You're…what?" Trini had always seemed so grounded in reality. But not right now. She looked perfectly sane and composed as always but…

Trini smiled slightly. "We're too young for the intensity right now. So, I can wait. Just keep that between us, please."

"No problem. It'll be our little secret." No one would believe her if she mentioned it anyway. She barely believed it herself.


End file.
